JP4180787B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing predetermined processing on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a semiconductor wafer as a substrate is processed with a processing solution such as a predetermined chemical solution or pure water to remove contamination such as particles, organic contaminants, and metal impurities from the semiconductor wafer, or to perform etching. Conventionally, wet type cleaning treatment apparatuses are widely used.
[0003]
Recently, in such a cleaning processing apparatus, a plurality of semiconductor wafers housed in a carrier are collectively held in a state where they are taken out from the carrier, and a carrier-less method in which these are immersed in a processing tank for processing. It has become mainstream from the viewpoint of reducing the size of the tank and shortening the processing time.
[0004]
In such a carrierless cleaning apparatus, cleaning processing is performed by holding wafers for two carriers at a time from the viewpoint of increasing processing capability, but the wafers for two carriers are arranged at a pitch stored in the carrier. In this case, since the arrangement length becomes long when processing is performed, Japanese Patent No. 2634350 discloses a technique for holding the wafers of two carriers in a batch by changing the pitch to half.
[0005]
In this technique, two carriers for standing and storing n wafers at equal pitches from the carry-in / out section are transported to the wafer insertion / extraction section, and the wafers are extracted from the two carriers at the wafer insertion / extraction section. 1 wafer group and a second wafer group are formed, and each wafer of the second wafer group is inserted into each gap of the wafers of the first wafer group in the wafer pitch conversion unit, and 2n wafers are 1 / A third wafer group arranged at a pitch of 2 is formed, and these are collectively transported to a processing unit by a transporting unit to perform a cleaning process. 2n wafers are separated into n pieces at the original pitch at 2 pitches, respectively, stored in two carriers at the wafer insertion / removal part, and these two carriers are conveyed to the carry-in / out part.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2634350, in the wafer insertion / removal unit and the wafer pitch conversion unit, only the transfer operation at the time of wafer loading and the transfer operation at the time of wafer unloading can be performed. When these operations are overlapped, priority is given to unloading the wafer, and the wafer on the loading side must stand by without being loaded into the wafer insertion / removal unit and the wafer pitch conversion unit until the wafer unloading operation is completed. For this reason, there is a problem that the processing time becomes longer by the waiting time and the throughput is poor.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when a plurality of substrates to be processed are collectively transported between the loading / unloading unit and the processing unit, the waiting time is minimized and the throughput is improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can be used.
[0008]
[Means for solving the problems]
  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of substrates to be processed are prepared before or after processing.On the first pitchA container loading / unloading section for loading / unloading containers arranged and stored at equal intervals;
A stage on which the container is placed; a substrate holding hand in which substrate holding grooves are formed at equal intervals at a second pitch which is half the first pitch; and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the substrate holding hand. HaveMultiple substrates before processingAt the first pitchFrom a container with an arrayBy substrate holding handA take-out part for taking out the substrate to be processed;
  The take-out part from the container carry-in / out partTo the stageA container transport mechanism for transporting the container storing the substrate to be processed;
  Provided above the stage,In the take-out partBy the substrate holding handRemoved from two containersOf the first pitchThe substrate to be processedSaid second pitchA substrate arrangement section arranged in
  Two containers arranged at the second pitchA processing unit for performing predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed;
  In the substrate array sectionAt the second pitchTransport means for transporting the arrayed substrates to be processed to the processing section;
  Provided above the substrate array portion;In the arrangement sectionAt the second pitchA standby unit for temporarily waiting the arrayed substrates to be processed;
The substrate to be processed before the first pitch processing of the container on the stage is lifted in a state of being held by the substrate holding hand and transported to the substrate arranging unit, and the substrate arranging unit performs the above operation on the substrate holding hand. The substrates to be processed before processing for two containers are arranged at the second pitch, and the substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand are exchanged with the standby unit, The substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand is exchanged with the transfer means, and the substrate to be processed at the second pitch after processing received by the substrate holding hand is transferred to the substrate holding hand. Controlling the substrate to be processed to be stored in the container on the stage by the substrate holding hand, which is transferred to the substrate arrangement unit and converted into the first pitch by the substrate arrangement unit, andIn the substrate arrangement part or the transfer means, the substrate to be processed before processing is processed.Transport processing or rearrangementAnd the substrate to be processed after processingTransport processing or rearrangementIn the board arrangement sectionOn the second pitchWaiting for the substrate to be processed before processing that has been rearranged to the standby unit,Arranged at the second pitchThe substrate to be processed after processing is transferred to the transfer means.The substrate holding hand receives the substrate and converts the substrate to be processed into the first pitch by the substrate arrangement unit, and then a plurality of substrates to be processed to the container on the stage at the first pitch by the substrate holding hand. Then, the substrate holding hand receives the substrate to be processed before the processing of the second pitch of the standby unit and transfers it to the transport means,A control mechanism for controlling to convey to the processing unit by the conveying means;
A substrate processing apparatus is provided.
[0012]
  First of the present invention2In terms ofA container loading / unloading section for loading or unloading a container in which a plurality of substrates to be processed before or after processing are arranged and stored at equal intervals at a first pitch;
A stage on which the container is placed; a substrate holding hand in which substrate holding grooves are formed at equal intervals at a second pitch which is half the first pitch; and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the substrate holding hand. A take-out unit for taking out a substrate to be processed by a substrate holding hand from a container in which a plurality of substrates before processing are arranged and stored at the first pitch;
A container transport mechanism for transporting the container storing the substrate to be processed from the container carry-in / out section to the stage of the take-out section;
A substrate arrangement section that is provided above the stage and arranges the substrates to be processed having the first pitch taken out from two containers by the substrate holding hand in the take-out section at the second pitch;
A processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the two substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch;
Conveying means for conveying the substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch in the substrate arrangement unit to the processing unit;
A substrate is subjected to a predetermined process using a substrate processing apparatus provided with a standby unit that is provided above the substrate arrangement unit and temporarily waits for the target substrates arranged at the second pitch in the arrangement unit.A substrate processing method comprising:
The substrate to be processed before the first pitch processing of the container on the stage is lifted in a state of being held by the substrate holding hand and transported to the substrate arranging unit, and the substrate arranging unit performs the above operation on the substrate holding hand. The substrates to be processed before processing for two containers are arranged at the second pitch, and the substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand are exchanged with the standby unit, The substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand is exchanged with the transfer means, and the substrate to be processed at the second pitch after processing received by the substrate holding hand is transferred to the substrate holding hand. The substrate to be processed is transferred to the substrate array unit, and the processed substrate converted into the first pitch by the substrate array unit is stored in the container on the stage by the substrate holding hand,
And,In the substrate arrangement part or the transfer means, the substrate to be processed before processing is processed.Transport processing or rearrangementAnd the substrate to be processed after processingTransport processing or rearrangementIn the board arrangement sectionOn the second pitchWaiting for the substrate to be processed before processing that has been rearranged to the standby unit,Arranged at the second pitchThe substrate to be processed after processing is transferred to the transfer means.The substrate holding hand receives the substrate and converts the substrate to be processed into the first pitch by the substrate arrangement unit, and then a plurality of substrates to be processed to the container on the stage at the first pitch by the substrate holding hand. Then, the substrate holding hand receives the substrate to be processed before the processing of the second pitch of the standby unit and transfers it to the transport means,Substrate processing method characterized in that the substrate is transferred to the processing unit by the transfer means.I will provide a.
[0013]
In the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer unit that collectively transfers a plurality of substrates to be processed between a carry-in / out unit and a processing unit, the plurality of substrates to be processed transferred by the substrate transfer unit are containers Since there is a standby unit that waits temporarily after being taken out of the board, even if the carry-in and carry-out schedules overlap, it is possible to carry in There is no need to wait for a previous substrate to be processed, and throughput can be improved.
[0014]
In addition, a substrate arrangement unit that rearranges a plurality of substrates to be processed between a first arrangement state in the carry-in / out unit and a second arrangement state when the substrate is processed in the processing unit, a container carry-in / out unit, and a substrate A first transport mechanism for transporting a plurality of substrates to be processed in the first array state to and from an array unit; and a plurality of objects to be processed in a second array state between the substrate array unit and the processing unit In a substrate processing apparatus having a second transport mechanism for transporting a body, a standby unit is provided to temporarily wait for a substrate to be processed that has been removed from the container and rearranged in the substrate array unit. Even when the substrate loading and unloading schedules overlap, the substrate arraying unit can arrange the substrate to be processed on the loading side before the unloading side transfer and alignment operations are completed, and the standby unit can be made to wait. No need to wait for the substrate to be processed before loading, It is possible to improve the throughput.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Here, a case will be described in which the present invention is applied to a cleaning apparatus configured to perform batch loading of semiconductor wafers, cleaning, drying, and unloading.
[0016]
First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning apparatus 1 includes a carry-in / carry-out / carrying block 2 in which a carrier C capable of storing a wafer W is carried in / out and a wafer is arranged / carryed, and a carrier stock block 3 for storing the carrier C. A cleaning / drying block (processing unit) 4 for cleaning and drying the wafer W is provided.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, the loading / unloading / transporting block 2 includes a loading / unloading station (loading / unloading unit) 5 where the carrier C is loaded / unloaded, and the loading / unloading of the wafer W with respect to the carrier C and the arrangement / transfer of the wafer W. And a wafer transfer / arrangement station (substrate transfer unit) 6. The wafer transfer / arrangement station 6 is provided between the carry-in / out station 5 and the cleaning / drying block 4.
[0018]
The loading / unloading station 5 is provided at the end opposite to the cleaning / drying block 4 and has two loading stages 11 on which two loaded carriers C can be placed, and two wafers W after processing. The carry-out stage 12 on which the carrier C can be placed is provided, and the carry-in stage 11 and the carry-out stage 12 are partitioned by a partition wall 10. Further, outer shutters 11a and 12a are provided on the outer portions of the carry-in stage 11 and the carry-out stage 12, respectively, and inner shutters 11b and 12b are provided on the inner portions, respectively. The outer shutters 11a and 12a and the inner shutters 11b and 12b are opened by moving upward, and the carrier C is allowed to be conveyed.
[0019]
The carrier C has a pair of side walls 91, as shown in FIG. On these side walls 91, for example, 25 wafer holding grooves 92 are formed at equal intervals with a pitch L (6.35 mm in the case of an 8-inch wafer), and the carrier C is such that the grooves 92 are vertical. Arranged. The wafer W is disposed in the groove 92 in the same direction, and is aligned so that, for example, the notch n is on the top. Therefore, the wafers W are arranged in the horizontal direction at equal intervals with the pitch L. When the notch n is not aligned in the carrier C, a notch alignment mechanism (notch aligner) for aligning the notch is disposed below the carry-in stage 11.
[0020]
The wafer transfer / arrangement station 6 has a wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 for loading / unloading the wafer W with respect to the carrier C and arranging the wafers. Between the loading stage 11 and the unloading stage 12 and the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14, a moving table 15 for carrying the carrier C is provided along a guide 16 arranged in the arrangement direction (Y direction) of the carrier C. It is provided to be movable. As will be described later, the table 15 is configured to carry the carrier C between the loading / unloading station 5 and the wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14. In the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14, as will be described later, the wafer W is taken out from the carrier C, and the wafer W is arranged at half the wafer arrangement pitch in the carrier C, and the wafers W for two carriers C are arranged. It is like that. Therefore, when the number of mounted wafers W on the carrier C is 25, for example, 50 wafers are arranged in the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14. Further, at the transfer position of the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14, for example, 50 wafers arranged by the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 are transferred and along the guide 18 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning / drying block 4. A transfer arm 17 is provided for transferring the wafer W between the transfer position of the wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 and each tank of the cleaning / drying block 4. The transfer arm 17 includes two chucks 17 a and 17 b that hold the wafer W.
[0021]
The carrier stock block 3 mainly waits for the carrier C which has been emptied after the unprocessed wafer is taken out or temporarily waits for the empty carrier C for storing the wafer W after cleaning. The carrier C in which the previous wafer or the cleaned wafer is stored may be kept on standby, whereby the transfer efficiency of the moving table 15 can be increased. The carrier stock block 3 can stock a plurality of carriers C in the vertical direction, and a carrier for taking out a predetermined carrier C therein or stocking the carrier C at a predetermined position therein. Built-in moving mechanism.
[0022]
The cleaning / drying block 4 includes a cleaning station 4a and a drying station 4b, and is arranged in the order of the drying station 4b and the cleaning station 4a from the loading / unloading / conveying block 2 side. In the cleaning station 4a, a first chemical tank 19, a first water tank 20, a second chemical tank 21, and a second water tank 22 are arranged in this order from the device end side. Further, the first transfer device 23 for transferring the wafer W between the first chemical solution tank 19 and the first washing tank 20, and the wafer between the second chemical solution tank 21 and the second washing tank 22. A second transport device 24 for transporting W is provided. The first transfer device 23 can move between the first chemical tank 19 and the first washing tank 20 by moving horizontally along the guide 23a, and the second transfer device 24 is moved to the guide 24a. It can move between the second chemical tank 21 and the second water washing tank 22 by moving horizontally along. The first chemical tank 19 stores a chemical solution for removing deposits such as particles, for example, ammonia water. The second chemical tank 21 stores an etchant for etching an oxide film formed on the surface of the wafer W, for example, dilute hydrofluoric acid. The first and second transfer devices 23 and 24 can transfer the wafer W to and from the transfer arm 17. As the etchant, in addition to dilute hydrofluoric acid, a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride can be used. The drying station 4b is provided with a water rinsing tank 25, on which a drying chamber (not shown) for supplying a vapor of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to dry the wafer is provided. A transfer device 26 for transferring the wafer W is provided between the washing tank 25 and the drying chamber, and the wafer washed with water in the washing bath 25 is pulled up by the transfer device 26 and is IPA-dried in the drying chamber. It has become. The transfer device 26 can transfer the wafer W to and from the transfer arm 17. Reference numeral 27 denotes a chuck cleaning / drying mechanism for cleaning and drying the chucks 17a and 17b, which are wafer holding portions of the transfer arm 17.
[0023]
Control such as driving and processing of each element constituting such a cleaning apparatus 1 is performed by the control mechanism 7.
[0024]
Next, the carry-in / out / transport block 2 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the carry-in stage 11 of the carry-in / out station 5 has two carrier placement ports 30 and 31, each of which has a shape corresponding to the moving table 15. Openings 30a and 31a are formed. Further, the carry-out stage 12 has two carrier placement ports 32 and 33. The carrier placement ports 32 and 33 are also formed with openings 32a and 33a having shapes corresponding to the moving table 15, respectively. Yes. On the other hand, the wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 of the wafer transfer / arrangement station 6 has an unloading / storing stage 34 for taking out the wafer W before cleaning from the carrier C and storing the wafer W after cleaning in the carrier C. The takeout / accommodating stage 34 has a carrier mounting port 35. The carrier mounting port 35 is also formed with an opening 35 a having a shape corresponding to the moving table 15. The carrier placement ports 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 are provided with positioning guides 30b, 31b, 32b, 33b, and 35b at positions corresponding to the four corners of the carrier C, respectively.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 4, the moving table 15 has a substantially square plane, and the carrier C is mounted in a state where the protrusion on the bottom of the carrier C is engaged with a groove (not shown) formed on the upper surface thereof. It is supposed to be placed. An alignment member 15 a having a comb-shaped groove for aligning the wafers W in the carrier C is provided on the upper surface of the moving table 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the moving table 15 is moved by the moving mechanism 40 to carry and transfer the carrier C. The moving mechanism 40 includes a lifting / lowering shaft 41 that supports the moving table 15 so that it can be lifted / lowered, a lifting / lowering mechanism 42 that lifts / lowers the moving table via the lifting / lowering shaft 41, a guide rail 43 that slides the lifting / lowering mechanism 42 in the X direction, A drive mechanism (not shown) that moves the mechanism 42 along the guide rail 43, a rotating shaft 45 that is fixed to the guide rail 43 via a fixing member 44, and a rotating mechanism that rotates the rotating shaft 45 together with the guide rail 43. 46 and a base member 47 which incorporates a rotation mechanism 46 and is guided by the guide rail 16 and moves along the Y direction.
[0026]
Then, the base member 47 is moved along the Y direction while being guided by the guide rail 16, the moving table 15 is made to correspond to one of the carrier placement ports, and the lifting mechanism 42 is moved along the guide rail 43. As a result, the movable table 15 can enter under the openings 30a, 31a, 32a, 33a, and 35a of the carrier mounting ports 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35. When the moving table 15 is moved up and down by the elevating mechanism 42 in a state of entering the lower side, the carrier C is transferred between each carrier placement port and the moving table 15. Then, by moving the moving table 15 by the moving mechanism 40, the carrier C is transported from the carry-in stage 11 to the take-out and storage stage 34, and from the take-out and storage stage 34 to the carry-out stage 12. A wafer sensor 48 composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is provided at the tip of the moving table 15, and when the carrier C storing the unprocessed wafer W of the loading stage 11 is received, the moving table 15 enters below. At this time, the wafer sensor 48 can detect the number of wafers W and the presence or absence of jump slots.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 is provided below the unloading / storage stage 34 and the carrier C mounted on the carrier mounting port 35 and provided below the unloading / storage stage 34. A wafer holding mechanism 50 for holding the wafer W for taking out and receiving W, and a substrate arrangement part 2 provided above the take-out storage stage 34 and having a pitch L / 2 of half the wafer arrangement pitch L on the carrier C. A pitch changer 60 for arranging, for example, 50 wafers W for a carrier, and a standby unit provided above the pitch changer 60 and temporarily waiting for a group of wafers W arranged at a pitch L / 2 by the pitch changer 60. And a standby mechanism 70 including The wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 is movable between a wafer loading / unloading position for loading / unloading the wafer W and a transfer position for transferring the wafer W to / from the transfer arm 17. A drive mechanism 80 is provided. The drive mechanism 80 includes a pair of LM guides 81 and 82 that extend horizontally, a ball screw 83 that extends horizontally between the LM guides 81 and 82, and a motor 84 that drives the ball screw 83.
[0028]
The wafer holding mechanism 50 has two wafer hands 51a, 51b, a lifting mechanism for moving them up and down, a base unit 52 incorporating a rotating mechanism for rotating them (both not shown), and a base member 52 in the Y direction. And a drive mechanism 54 that is moved along. The wafer hand 51a is for carrying in the wafer, and the wafer hand 51b is for carrying out the wafer. The drive mechanism 54 moves the base member 52 so that the wafer hand to be used is positioned directly below the carrier placement port 35. Move. These wafer hands 51a and 51b are formed with grooves 55 for holding two wafers, for example, 50 wafers at a pitch L / 2, and wafers for two carriers can be received and delivered. The drive mechanism 54 includes a pair of LM guides 56 and 57 extending in the Y direction, a ball screw 58 extending in the Y direction between the LM guides 56 and 57, and a motor 59 that drives the ball screw 58. Note that fitting members 52 a and 52 b extending from the base portion 52 are fitted to the LM guides 56 and 57. (FIG. 7).
[0029]
The pitch changer 60 is attached to the take-out and storage stage 34 and extends above the take-out and storage stage 34, a support member 62 that moves along the guide member 61, and the support member 62 that moves up and down along the guide member 61. In order to hold the wafer W, the drive mechanism 63 (FIG. 7) to be moved, the pair of rotating shafts 64a and 64b extending in parallel with each other in the horizontal direction from the support member 62, and the rotating shafts 64a and 64b are respectively mounted horizontally. The pair of wafer holding members 65a and 65b and the rotation shafts 64a and 64b are rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, for example, so that the wafer holding members 65a and 65b are not held in the horizontal holding position (see FIG. 8) and in the vertical attitude. A rotation mechanism 66 that switches between positions (see FIG. 6) is provided. In the wafer holding members 65a and 65b, as shown in FIG. 9, wafer holding grooves 67a and 67b corresponding to one wafer, for example, 25 wafers W are formed on the upper surface of the inner edge portion with a pitch L. Yes. Also, wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b corresponding to the wafer W for one carrier are formed at a pitch L on the lower surface of the outer edge portion. For example, the wafer holding grooves 67a and 67b are used for carrying in the wafer, and the wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b are used for carrying out. That is, at the time of loading, the unprocessed wafer W is held in the wafer holding grooves 67a and 67b in the state of FIG. 9, and at the time of unloading, the wafer holding members 65a and 65b are rotated to form the wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b. The processed wafer W is held in the wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b so as to be inside. On the other hand, a gap 69a through which the wafer W can pass with a pitch L is formed between adjacent wafer holding grooves 67a of the wafer holding member 65a and between the wafer holding grooves 68a. The gap 69a is formed between the wafer holding groove 67a and the gap 69a. And a pitch L / 2 between the wafer holding groove 68a and the gap 69a. Similarly, a gap 69b through which the wafer W can pass with a pitch L is formed between adjacent wafer holding grooves 67b of the wafer holding member 65b and between the wafer holding grooves 68b, and the wafer holding groove 67b and the gap 69b And a pitch L / 2 between the wafer holding groove 68b and the gap 69b.
[0030]
When the wafer is loaded, as shown in FIG. 9, with the wafer holding grooves 67a and 67b on the inside, the wafer holding groove 67a and 67b receives a wafer W for one carrier at a pitch L from the wafer hand 51a, and the next one carrier. The mirror surface (front surface) faces opposite to the already placed wafer W in every other vacant portion of the wafer holding groove 55 of the wafer hand 51a on which the wafer W is loaded. When the wafer W on the pitch changer 60 is delivered after the wafer hand 51a is rotated 180 degrees, 50 wafers are held on the wafer hand 51a at a pitch L / 2. On the other hand, at the time of unloading, the wafer hand 51b holds two carriers, for example, 50 wafers W at a pitch L / 2, and the wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b are on the inside, and one carrier is provided by these wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b. For one wafer W, the wafer W for one carrier remaining through the gaps 69a and 69b is stored in the carrier C, and the wafers on the wafer holding grooves 68a and 68b are stored in another carrier C. .
[0031]
The standby mechanism 70 includes a support member 72 that moves along the guide member 61, a drive mechanism 73 (FIG. 7) that moves the support member 72 up and down along the guide member 61, and a horizontal direction parallel to the support member 72. A pair of rotating shafts 74a and 74b extending horizontally, a standby portion 75 comprising a pair of wafer holding members 75a and 75b that are horizontally attached to the rotating shafts 74a and 74b and temporarily hold the wafer W, and a rotating shaft 74a. , 74b are rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, for example, and the wafer holding members 75a, 75b are switched between a horizontal holding position (see FIG. 8) and a vertical non-holding position (see FIG. 6). And have. As shown in FIG. 10, in the wafer holding member 75a, wafer holding grooves 77a and 78a corresponding to two wafers, for example, 50 wafers W are formed at opposite edges at a pitch L / 2. The wafer holding member 75b is formed with wafer holding grooves 77b and 78b corresponding to two wafers, for example, 50 wafers W at a pitch L / 2 at opposite edges. The wafer standby mechanism 70 has a function of temporarily waiting the wafer W when the loading / unloading schedule of the wafer W overlaps with the unloading schedule after cleaning in the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14. For example, when the schedules for loading the wafer W into the cleaning / drying block 4 and unloading the dried wafer W overlap, the pitch changer 60 waits for, for example, 50 wafers W that have been arranged on the wafer hand 51a. After waiting in the section 75 and inserting the cleaned wafer W into the carrier and transferring the carrier C to the moving table 15, the loading operation of the wafer W in the standby section 75 is completed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the wafer W is held by the wafer holding grooves 77a and 77b inside. Further, the wafer W can be temporarily held during the unloading operation. In this case, the wafer W is held by the wafer holding grooves 78a and 78b.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 11, the transfer arm 17 incorporates the pair of chucks 17a and 17b described above and a rotation mechanism (not shown) for rotating the chucks 17a and 17b in the direction of the arrow, and the chucks 17a and 17b. The support member 81 is supported, and the support member 81 moves along the guide 18. In the chucks 17a and 17b, wafer holding grooves 82a and 82b corresponding to 50 wafers for two carriers are formed at a pitch L / 2. As shown in FIG. 12, the transfer of the wafer W from the wafer hand 51a to the transfer arm 17 is performed by inserting the chucks 17a and 17b of the transfer arm 17 below the wafer hand 51a holding the wafer W for two carriers. This is done by lowering the hand 51a. Conversely, when the cleaned wafer W is transferred from the transfer arm 17 to the wafer hand 51b, the chucks 17a and 17b on which the cleaned wafer W is mounted are inserted above the wafer hand 51b and the wafer hand 51b is lifted. To do.
[0033]
The first and second transport devices 23 and 24 of the cleaning station 4a in the cleaning / drying block 4 have the same structure, and move in the horizontal and vertical directions along the guide as shown in FIG. And a wafer holding unit 102 that holds a plurality of wafers W provided at the lower end of the support member 101, and the wafer holding unit 102 supports 50 wafers W. Three rod-like members 102a, 102b, and 102c are provided. Then, by lowering the support member 101 while the wafer W is placed on the wafer holding unit 102, the wafer can be immersed in any one of the tanks. As shown in FIG. 14, the wafer W is transferred from the chucks 17a, 17b of the transfer arm 17 to the first or second transfer device 23, 24 at a position lower than the chucks 17a, 17b. In this state, the chucks 17a and 17b holding a plurality of wafers W are positioned immediately above the wafer holder 102, and the support member 101 is raised. Conversely, when the wafer W is delivered from the wafer holding unit 102 to the chucks 17a and 17b, the supporting member 101 is lowered while the wafer W is held on the wafer holding unit 102 in the reverse procedure. What is necessary is just to pass between chuck | zipper 17a, 17b. The transfer device 26 of the drying station 4b has substantially the same structure, and the wafer can be transferred to and from the transfer arm 17 in the same manner.
[0034]
In the transfer devices 23 and 24, in order to prevent non-uniform volatilization of the chemical solution and adhesion of particles to the wafer W, a cover is provided above the wafer W held by the wafer holder 102 as shown in FIG. It is preferable to provide the member 110. The cover member 110 includes a hook member 111 having a mountain shape provided along the wafer arrangement direction in the wafer holding unit 102 and a shielding member 112 that blocks an opening on the tip side of the hook member 111. A base end side portion of the flange member 111 is shielded by the support member 101, and the cover member 110 is disposed at a position surrounding the space above the wafer W. Therefore, the air current is not substantially formed in the portion, and the chemical solution does not volatilize unevenly, and the cover member 110 can eliminate the adhesion of particles to the wafer W. The shape of the cover member 110 is not limited to that illustrated.
[0035]
Next, the processing operation of the cleaning apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, the moving table 15 transports the carrier C that has been carried into the carry-in stage 11 of the carry-in / out station 5 to the take-out and storage stage 34 of the wafer take-in / out arrangement device 14.
[0036]
In this wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14, the wafer W is taken out from the carrier C, and the number of wafers W corresponding to two carriers C, for example, 50 wafers W is arranged at a pitch L / 2 that is half the wafer arrangement pitch L of the carrier C. Then, it is transferred to the transfer arm 17.
[0037]
When there is no unloaded wafer from the cleaning / drying block 4, the wafer loading / unloading apparatus 14 at the time of loading the wafer performs wafer alignment and transfer according to the procedure shown in FIG. 16.
[0038]
First, for example, a carrier C storing 25 wafers W at a pitch L is mounted on the carrier mounting port 35 of the take-out storage stage 34 from the moving table 15 ((a) of FIG. 16), and the carrier C is transferred by the wafer hand 51a. The wafer W is lifted, 25 wafers W are received from the carrier C onto the wafer hand 51a at a pitch L, and lifted to a position corresponding to the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60 ((b in FIG. 16). )). Then, the wafer holding members 65a and 65b are placed in a horizontal state with the holding grooves 67a and 67b inside, and 25 wafers W for one carrier are held on the wafer holding members 65a and 65b at a pitch L ((c) in FIG. 16). The empty carrier C from which the wafer W has been taken out is transferred to the carrier stock block 3 by the moving table 15, and then the next carrier C is placed on the carrier placement port 35 of the take-out storage stage 34 (FIG. 16 ( d)). Thereafter, the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60 are lifted (FIG. 16 (e)), and 25 wafers W for one carrier are lifted by the wafer hand 51a (FIG. 16 (f)). . In this state, the wafer hand 51a is rotated 180 degrees so that the wafer W supported on the wafer hand 51a is opposite to the direction of the wafer W of the pitch changer 60 ((g) in FIG. 16). At this time, the wafer W of the wafer hand 51 a is set to a corresponding position between the wafers W held by the pitch changer 60. In this state, the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60 are lowered, and the 25 wafers W on the wafer holding members 65a and 65b are transferred between the wafers W held by the wafer hand 51a. Are held at a pitch L / 2 ((h) in FIG. 16). Then, the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60 are placed in the vertical state, and the wafer hand 51a holding 50 wafers W for two carriers is raised to the transfer position ((i) in FIG. 16). In this state, the wafer hand 51 a is rotated by 90 degrees so that the wafer can be placed on the chucks 17 a and 17 b of the transfer arm 17, and the entire wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 is moved between the transfer arm 17 and the wafer W The wafer W on the wafer hand 51a is moved to a position immediately above the chucks 17a and 17b waiting there ((j) in FIG. 16). In this state, the wafer hand 51a is lowered to hold 50 wafers for 2 carriers in wafer holding grooves (not shown) formed at the pitch L / 2 on the chucks 17a and 17b ((k in FIG. 16). )). Thereafter, the wafer W on the chucks 17a, 17b is transferred to the cleaning / drying block 4, and cleaning and drying processes are performed as follows.
[0039]
First, in the cleaning station 4a, the wafer W is delivered to the wafer holder 102 of the first transfer device 23, the support member 101 is lowered, and the wafer W is immersed in ammonia stored in the first chemical tank 19. Then, particles on the surface of the wafer W are removed.
[0040]
Next, after the support member 101 of the first transfer device 23 is raised and further moved horizontally to the upper position of the first washing tank 20, the support member 101 is lowered to hold the wafer W held on the wafer holding unit 102. Is washed in the water washing tank 20 with pure water. After washing with water, the wafer W is pulled up and delivered to the chucks 17 a and 17 b of the transfer arm 17.
[0041]
Thereafter, the transfer arm 17 delivers the wafer W to the wafer holder 102 of the second transfer device 24 at the position of the second chemical tank 21. Then, the support member 101 of the second transfer device 24 is lowered and immersed in an etching solution stored in the second chemical solution tank 21, for example, dilute hydrofluoric acid. Thereby, an oxide film formed on the surface of the wafer W, for example, SiO₂Etching is performed to reduce the thickness of the oxide film.
[0042]
Next, the support member 101 is raised, the wafer W is lifted from the etching solution in the second chemical solution tank 21, the support member 101 is moved horizontally to be positioned immediately above the second washing tank 22, and the support member 101 is subsequently moved. The wafer W lowered and held by the wafer holder 102 is overflow-washed with pure water in the second water-washing tank 22, and the etching process is completed.
[0043]
After the etching process is thus completed, the wafer W is delivered from the wafer holding unit 102 of the second transfer device 24 to the chucks 17a and 17b of the transfer arm 17. The transfer arm 17 that has received the wafer W travels on the guide 18 to reach the drying station 4 b and delivers the wafer W to the transfer device 26. In the drying station 4b, after washing with pure water in the washing tank 25, the wafer W is pulled up from the washing tank 25, and IPA vapor is supplied to the wafer W while being held by the transfer device 26 in the drying chamber above it. Then, the water adhering to the wafer W is replaced with IPA to perform drying.
[0044]
After cleaning and drying, the wafer W is delivered to the chucks 17 a and 17 b of the transfer arm 17. The transfer arm 17 that has received the wafer W travels on the guide 18 and is transferred to the wafer transfer / arrangement station 6 of the transfer-in / out / transfer block 2. In the wafer loading / unloading / arrangement apparatus 14, the chuck 17 a, The wafer W after cleaning and drying held by 17b is received. The wafer W on the wafer hand 51b raises the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60 positioned below the wafer hand 51b, holds 25 sheets for one carrier at a pitch L, and the other 25 sheets have gaps. Passing through 69a and 69b and remaining on the wafer hand 51b at a pitch L, the carrier C is lowered to the carrier C by lowering the wafer hand 51b with the empty carrier C placed on the carrier placement port 35 of the take-out storage stage 34. A single wafer W is stored. After the carrier C is transported to the carry-out stage 12 by the moving table 15, another empty carrier C is placed on the carrier placement port 35 of the take-out storage stage 34, and the pitch L is placed on the wafer holding members 65 a and 65 b of the pitch changer 60. 25 wafers W are received by the wafer hand 51b, stored in an empty carrier of the carrier mounting port 35, and similarly transferred to the unloading stage 12 by the moving table 15.
[0045]
On the other hand, when the carry-side wafer W pitch conversion and transfer process and the carry-out wafer W transfer process and pitch conversion after cleaning and drying overlap in a scheduled manner, the process is performed as shown in FIG. That is, after the step (i) in FIG. 16 is completed, the standby unit 75 including the pair of wafer holding members 75a and 75b of the standby mechanism 70 is lowered, and 50 wafers W on the wafer hand 51a are transferred to the standby unit 75. ((A) of FIG. 17). Thereafter, the standby unit 75 is raised (FIG. 17B), the wafer hand 51a is rotated 180 degrees and returned to the original position, and lowered below the take-out storage stage 34 (FIG. 17C). In this state, the cleaned / dried wafer W is transferred to the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 by the transfer arm 17, and the cleaned / dried wafer W held by the chucks 17a, 17b of the transfer arm 17 is transferred by the wafer hand 51b. Received ((d) of FIG. 17).
[0046]
As described above, the wafers W on the wafer hand 51b are stored in the two carriers C 25 by 25 and are transferred to the carry-out stage 12 by the transfer table 15.
[0047]
In this way, after the unloading operation of the wafer W is completed, the unprocessed wafer W that has been waiting in the standby unit 75 is transferred to the wafer hand 51a, and then cleaned and dried by the transfer arm 17 in the same procedure as described above. It is transported to block 4 and subjected to cleaning / drying processing.
[0048]
In the process of processing the wafer W, since the common wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 and the transfer arm 17 are used for both loading and unloading, after the wafer W on the loading side is subjected to pitch conversion and transfer processing, and after cleaning and drying. When the unloading side wafer W transfer process and pitch conversion overlap in a scheduled manner, it is necessary to give priority to unloading after cleaning and drying. Conventionally, the unloading side wafer W transfer process and pitch conversion are completed. If the wafer hand 51a and the pitch changer 60 are not available in the process of carrying out and carrying out the pitch conversion during unloading, the wafer W can be effectively used. could not. Further, when the wafer W is unloaded and the wafer W is loaded, the transfer arm 17 may be vacant during the pitch conversion, and the transfer arm 17 is not effectively used. Therefore, the throughput has to be long.
[0049]
On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 is provided with the standby unit 75 for waiting the wafer W as described above, the pitch conversion and transfer processing of the wafer W on the loading side, and the cleaning / drying process are performed. Even if the transfer processing and the pitch conversion of the wafer W on the carry-out side overlap on a schedule basis, the unprocessed wafer W is transferred into the wafer loading / unloading / arranging device 14 during the processing period of the transfer arm 17 and the wafer hand 51a and the pitch changer 60 are transferred. The wafer hand 51a that has been unable to be used effectively for a period of time during which the unprocessed wafer W cannot be loaded and can be kept waiting by performing the wafer arranging operation for two carriers by the waiting unit 75. The pitch changer 60 can be used effectively. Further, the transfer arm 17 can receive the wafer W of the standby unit 75 immediately after the unloading operation of the wafer W and transfer the wafer W to the cleaning / drying block 4, so that the transfer arm 17 can be effectively used. it can. Therefore, the throughput can be improved accordingly.
[0050]
Further, a standby unit 75 exists in the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 and is provided on the guide member 61 that guides the wafer holding members 65a and 65b of the pitch changer 60. The standby unit 75 and the pitch changer 60 are perpendicular to each other. Since they overlap, there is almost no space demerit due to the provision of the standby unit 75, and wafers can be transferred to and from the standby unit 75 quickly. Since the standby unit 75 is provided immediately above the pitch changer 60, the wafer hands 51a and 51b can be used for delivery to the standby unit 75, so that it is not necessary to install a new delivery mechanism.
[0051]
Further, even if the pitch conversion and transfer processing of the loading-side wafer W and the transfer processing and pitch conversion of the unloading-side wafer W after cleaning and drying do not overlap in a scheduled manner, the waiting wafer 75 is first loaded with the loaded wafer W. The throughput can be improved by allowing the wafer W of the next carrier to be loaded.
[0052]
The above pitch conversion and transfer processing of the wafer W are controlled by the control mechanism 7, and while the transfer arm 17 is restrained by the cleaning / drying block 4, the pitch conversion of the loaded wafer is performed and the standby unit 75 is made to wait. Then, the control is such that the wafer W after drying is transferred to the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus 14 by the transfer arm 17, but the control at this time is the wafer loading / unloading / arranging after the drying of the wafer W being processed. It is also possible to control so that the shorter time is given priority by comparing the time returned to the apparatus 14 with the time when the unprocessed wafer W is put into the first cleaning tank.
[0053]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a cleaning apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The cleaning apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes a loading / unloading block 202 for loading / unloading and storing the carrier C in which the wafer W is stored in a horizontal state, and a cleaning / drying block 204 for cleaning and drying the wafer W. The interface block 203 is located between the loading / unloading block 202 and the cleaning / drying block 204 and mainly performs transfer, position adjustment, posture change, and the like of the wafer W. Since the cleaning / drying block 204 is configured in the same manner as the cleaning / drying block 4 of the first embodiment, detailed illustration and description thereof will be omitted.
[0054]
The loading / unloading block 202 includes a predetermined number of carrier loading / unloading portions 205 on which a stage 211 for mounting a carrier C in which, for example, 25 wafers W are stored in a horizontal state is formed, and a predetermined number of carrier holding members 213. The carrier stock unit 206 is arranged and can store a plurality of carriers C. The carrier C on which the wafer W before the cleaning process placed on the stage 211 is stored is loaded into the carrier stock unit 206 by the carrier transport mechanism 212, while the wafer W after the cleaning / drying process is stored. The carrier C is carried out from the carrier stock unit 206 to the stage 211 using the carrier carrying mechanism 212.
[0055]
A shutter 214 is provided between the carrier loading / unloading unit 205 and the carrier stock unit 206, and the shutter 214 is opened when the carrier C is transferred between the carrier loading / unloading unit 205 and the carrier stock unit 206. In other cases, the shutter 214 is closed in order to separate the atmosphere between the carrier carry-in / out unit 205 and the carrier stock unit 206.
[0056]
The carrier transport mechanism 212 includes, for example, an arm 212a such as an articulated arm or a telescopic arm that is driven so that at least the carrier C can be moved in the X direction. To carry the carrier C. Further, the carrier transport mechanism 212 can be driven in the Y direction and the Z direction (height direction) by a drive mechanism (not shown), and thereby the carrier C is placed on the carrier holding member 213 disposed at a predetermined position. It can be placed.
[0057]
The carrier holding member 213 is provided at four locations in the vicinity of the wall surface that forms the carrier stock portion 206 (one of which is an upper portion of a wafer transfer portion described later). It is provided on the stage. In this way, the carrier stock unit 206 temporarily stores the carrier C that has been emptied after the unprocessed wafer W is taken out, or stores the empty carrier C for storing the cleaned wafer W. Play a role.
[0058]
A window portion 216 is formed at the boundary between the carrier stock portion 206 and the interface block 203, and a wafer transfer portion 215 is provided across the window portion 216. On the carrier stock portion 206 side of the wafer transfer portion 215, a carrier holding member 213a is disposed so that the carrier C can be placed with the lid of the carrier C facing the window portion 216.
[0059]
On the carrier stock unit 206 side or interface block 203 side of the wafer delivery unit 215, a lid body opening / closing mechanism 217 for opening and closing the lid body of the carrier C placed on the carrier holding member 213a is provided. By setting the part 216 and the lid to the open state, the wafer W in the carrier C can be transferred to the interface block 203 side, and conversely, from the interface block 203 side to the empty carrier C side. It is also possible to store the wafer W.
[0060]
A detection sensor mechanism 218 for measuring the number of wafers W in the carrier C is disposed on the interface block 203 side of the wafer delivery unit 215. The detection sensor mechanism 218, for example, inspects the number of wafers W and the storage state of the wafers while scanning the optical sensor head in the Z direction.
[0061]
In the interface block 203, a wafer transfer mechanism 219 for transferring the wafer W so as to take out the wafer W in the carrier C through the window 216 or store the wafer W in which the liquid processing has been completed in the carrier C, and a wafer The wafer W is transferred between the wafer posture conversion / arrangement device 221 and the wafer posture conversion / arrangement device 221 that receive and transfer the wafers for two carriers from the transfer mechanism 219, and perform cleaning and cleaning. A transfer device 222 that moves along the guide 230 extending in the longitudinal direction of the drying block 204 and transfers the wafer W between the transfer position of the wafer posture conversion / array device 221 and each tank of the cleaning / drying block 204; The wafer W whose posture has been changed and arranged by the wafer posture changing / arranging apparatus 221 is temporarily kept in standby. A machine unit 223 is provided.
[0062]
The wafer transfer mechanism 219 has two arms, an arm 219a for transferring the unprocessed wafer W and an arm 219b for transferring the wafer W after the cleaning / drying, and these arms 219a, 219b. Is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat, and the entire wafer transfer mechanism 219 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction. Further, the wafer holding portions of the arms 219a and 219b include a plurality of wafer holding portions so that the plurality of wafers W can be held together in a horizontal state.
[0063]
For example, the wafer transfer mechanism 219 first sets the arms 219a and 219b so that the arms 219a and 219b advance and retreat in the X direction, and the arm 219a is in the state shown in FIG. Thus, the wafer W in the carrier C is taken out. Next, the entire wafer transfer mechanism 219 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, so that the arms 219a and 219b advance and retract directions coincide with the Y direction, and the arm 219a is on the cleaning / drying block 204 side. The wafer W held on the wafer is driven so as to be transferred to the wafer posture changing / arranging device 221. On the contrary, the arm 219a, 219b is moved and retracted in the Y direction, and the arm 219b is on the cleaning / drying block 204 side. After the wafer W is taken out, the entire wafer transfer mechanism 219 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise so that the arrow A direction coincides with the X direction, and the arm 219b is on the wafer attitude conversion / array device 221 side. 219b is expanded and contracted, and the wafer W held by the arm 219b is driven to be stored in the empty carrier C.
[0064]
The transfer of the wafer W using the wafer transfer mechanism 219 is performed with the wafer W in a horizontal state. However, since the wafer W needs to be cleaned with the wafer W in a vertical state, the wafer posture conversion / arrangement apparatus 221 performs wafer transfer. W posture conversion is performed. The wafer orientation changing / arranging device 221 holds 25 wafers and is capable of holding 50 wafers W at an arrangement pitch L / 2 located below the holding unit 221a and holding unit 221a capable of rotating by 90 degrees. And a pitch changer 221b. That is, the wafer posture changing / arranging device 221 horizontally arranges a total of 50 wafers W stored in the two carriers C at an arrangement pitch L / 2 that is half the wafer arrangement pitch L in the carrier C. It is configured to be arranged. The pitch changer 221b is configured to be movable between a position directly below the holding portion 221a and a transfer position 231 described later.
[0065]
In the wafer posture changing / arranging apparatus 221, for example, 25 wafers W from the first carrier C transferred from the wafer transfer mechanism 219 are transferred to the holding unit 221a and held in the holding unit 221a. The orientation of the 25 wafers W is changed to a state where they are arranged vertically and horizontally. Then, the lower pitch changer 221b is raised and 25 wafers W are placed on the pitch changer 221b at a pitch L. Next, 25 wafers W from the second carrier C transferred from the wafer transfer mechanism 219 are transferred to the holding unit 221a and the posture is changed. Then, the pitch changer 221b is moved up by shifting the pitch L / 2 in the wafer arrangement direction, and 25 wafers W are placed between the wafers W already placed on the pitch changer 221b. As a result, 50 wafers W are arranged on the pitch changer 221b at a pitch L / 2.
[0066]
The transfer device 222 has a chuck 222 a, and transfers the wafer W along the guide 230 while holding the wafer W on the chuck 222 a, and between the transfer position 231 and the pitch changer 221 b of the wafer orientation conversion / arrangement device 221. Thus, transfer of the wafers W arranged vertically and horizontally is performed. At this time, with the chuck 222a in the non-holding position, the pitch changer 221b mounted with 50 wafers W at the transfer position 231 is raised above the chuck 222a, and then the chuck 222a is set to the holding position. The pitch changer 221b is lowered and 50 wafers W are transferred to the chuck 222a. As a matter of course, in the transfer apparatus 222 as well, the wafers W are arranged at a pitch L / 2 that is half of the arrangement pitch in the carrier C.
[0067]
The standby unit 223 is provided so as to be movable along the guide 233 between the transfer position 231 and the side standby position 232, and the standby unit 223 is moved to the transfer position 231 as shown in FIG. In the arranged state, 50 wafers W arranged in the pitch changer 221b of the wafer posture changing / arranging apparatus 221 are received and are waited at the standby position 232.
[0068]
Control such as driving and processing of each element constituting such a cleaning apparatus 200 is performed by the control mechanism 207.
[0069]
In the cleaning apparatus 200 configured in this way, first, two carriers C constituting one lot are placed on the carrier loading / unloading unit 205. Next, the shutter 214 is opened, and the first carrier C is carried into the carrier stock unit 206 using the carrier transport mechanism 212. After the first carrier C is carried into the carrier stock unit 206, the shutter 214 is closed. The carrier C carried into the carrier stock unit 206 is placed on the carrier holding member 213a disposed in the wafer transfer unit 215, the lid of the carrier C is opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism 217, and the window 216 is further opened. The detection sensor mechanism 218 inspects the number of wafers W stored in the carrier C and the storage state. If no abnormality is detected in the storage state of the wafer W, the window 216 is closed, the lid of the carrier C is closed, and the carrier C is inserted into the carrier stock member 206. Place on either. Subsequently, the storage state of the wafer W in the second carrier C is inspected by the same procedure, and if no abnormality is found, it is placed on one of the carrier holding members 213. Such an operation is performed for the required number of carriers.
[0070]
Next, the carrier C of the first lot is moved from the carrier stock unit 206 to the carrier holding member 213a of the wafer transfer unit 215 from the storage position. Then, the lid of the carrier C is opened, the window 216 is opened, and the 25 wafers W in the carrier C are taken out by the unprocessed wafer arm 219a of the wafer transfer mechanism 219, and the wafer attitude changing / arranging apparatus Transfer to 221. In the wafer orientation changing / arranging apparatus 221, the holding unit 221a holds 25 wafers W, rotates the holding unit 221a by 90 degrees to bring the wafers W into a vertical state, and delivers the 25 wafers W to the pitch changer 221b. . Thereafter, the empty carrier C in which the window 216 is closed and the lid of the carrier stock unit 206 is closed is returned to the original position stored from the wafer delivery unit 215, and the second carrier C is returned to the wafer delivery unit. Similarly, the wafer W in the carrier C is taken out by the arm 219a for the unprocessed wafer of the wafer transfer mechanism 219 and transferred to the wafer posture changing / arranging device 221. In the wafer orientation changing / arranging apparatus 221, the holding unit 221a holds 25 wafers W, the holding unit 221a is rotated 90 degrees to bring the wafer W into a vertical state, and the pitch changer 221b is moved by L / 2 in the wafer arrangement direction. The next 25 wafers W are transferred between the wafers W already placed on the pitch changer 221b. As a result, 50 wafers W are arranged at a pitch of 2 / L on the pitch changer 221b of the wafer attitude conversion / arrangement device 221. Then, the pitch changer 221b is moved to the transfer position 231 and the arranged wafers W are transferred onto the chuck 222a of the transfer device 222, transferred to the cleaning / drying block 204, and a predetermined cleaning process is performed. After a predetermined cleaning process and drying of the wafer W are completed, the transfer device 222 transfers the wafer W to the transfer position 231 of the wafer posture conversion / arrangement device 221, and transfers the wafer W to the wafer posture conversion / arrangement device 221. In other words, the posture of the wafer W is returned, and the wafer transfer mechanism 219 returns 50 wafers W to the two carriers by 25 sheets. These operations are performed as many times as the number of carriers C that have entered these operations.
[0071]
In such a process of processing the wafer W, as in the apparatus of the first embodiment, the orientation change / arrangement process and the transfer process of the wafer W on the carry-in side, the transfer process of the wafer W on the unload side after the cleaning / drying, and There is a case where posture conversion / arrangement processing (pitch conversion) overlaps with each other on a schedule. Since the cleaning apparatus 200 uses a common wafer transfer mechanism 219, wafer orientation conversion / arrangement apparatus 221 and transfer apparatus 222 for both loading and unloading, if the schedules overlap in this way, the cleaning and drying are performed. It is necessary to give priority to unloading. Therefore, when the standby unit 223 is not provided, the unprocessed wafer W cannot be loaded until the transfer process and transfer process of the wafer W on the unloading side are completed, and the throughput must be lowered. Absent. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the standby unit 223 that waits for the wafer W is provided adjacent to the wafer posture changing / arranging apparatus 221, so that the posture changing / arranging processing (pitch of the wafer W on the loading side) is performed. Conversion) and transfer processing, and transfer processing and posture conversion / arrangement processing (pitch conversion) of the wafer W on the unloading side after cleaning / drying overlap in a scheduled manner, and an unprocessed wafer in the processing period of the transfer device 222 W can be put into the wafer transfer mechanism 219 and 50 wafers W can be arranged by the wafer posture changing / arranging device 221 and kept in the standby unit 223. Also, immediately after the unloading processing of the wafer W is completed. In addition, since the carrying-in operation can be performed by the carrying device 222, the throughput can be improved.
[0072]
The present invention is not limited to the above two embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the idea of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which wafers for two carriers are arranged at a half pitch in the middle of conveyance, and then subjected to a cleaning process. However, this wafer arrangement method is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Further, the present invention is applicable even when such an array operation is not performed. In the above embodiment, an apparatus for performing a cleaning process with a chemical solution on the wafer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other liquid processes may be used. Is applicable. Furthermore, although the case where a semiconductor wafer was used as the substrate to be processed has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to processing of other substrates such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrate.
[0073]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the standby unit for temporarily waiting after the plurality of substrates to be processed, which are transferred by the substrate transfer unit, are taken out of the container. Even when the schedules overlap, it is not necessary to wait for the substrate to be processed before loading, by waiting the substrate to be processed in the temporary standby unit in the middle of transport, and throughput can be improved.
[0074]
Further, during the transfer of the substrate to be processed to the processing unit, for example, a container between the first array state in the loading / unloading unit and the second array state when the processing unit processes the substrate. In the substrate processing apparatus provided with the substrate arrangement unit for rearranging to a half pitch of the arrangement pitch, a standby unit for temporarily waiting the substrate to be processed that has been removed from the container and rearranged in the substrate arrangement unit As a result, even if the carry-in and carry-out schedules of the substrate to be processed overlap, the substrate arrangement unit arranges the substrate to be processed on the carry-in side and waits in the standby unit before the transfer and arrangement operations on the carry-out side are completed. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait for the substrate to be processed before loading, and throughput can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a carrier.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a loading / unloading / conveying block of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a loading / unloading station and a moving table of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a front view showing the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a wafer holding member in the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a standby unit of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the transfer device in the wafer transfer / arrangement station of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a wafer transfer state between the wafer hand and the transfer device in the wafer transfer / arrangement station of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a transport device in the cleaning / drying block of the cleaning device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a perspective view for explaining a delivery state between the transfer apparatus of FIG. 13 and the transfer apparatus in the wafer transfer / arrangement station.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state where a cover member is added to the transport apparatus of FIG. 13;
FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a processing procedure in the wafer loading / unloading / arranging apparatus when loading a wafer when there is no unloaded wafer from the cleaning / drying block.
17 is a diagram illustrating a wafer loading / unloading / arrangement when loading and unloading the wafer W on the carry-in side and a transfer / pitch conversion on the unloading-side wafer W after cleaning / drying in a scheduled manner. The figure for demonstrating the process sequence in an apparatus.
FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a cleaning device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a wafer is transferred to a standby unit of a cleaning apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1,200; Cleaning device
2: Carry-in / out / transport block
4,204; Washing and drying block
5; Carry-in / out station
6; Wafer transfer / arrangement station
11: Loading stage
12: Unloading stage
14: Wafer loading / unloading / arranging device
15: Moving table
17: Transfer arm
34; Removal storage stage
50; Wafer holding mechanism
51a, 51b; wafer hand
60; pitch changer
65a, 65b; wafer holding member
70; standby mechanism
75,223; standby section
202; carry-in / out block
203; interface block
219; Wafer transfer mechanism
221; Wafer attitude conversion / arrangement device
221b; pitch changer
222; Conveying device
W: Semiconductor wafer (substrate to be processed)
C: Career

Claims (5)

A container transfer portion for carrying in or out the containers arranged housing at equal intervals in a plurality of the substrate after the pretreatment or treatment first pitch,
A stage on which the container is placed; a substrate holding hand in which substrate holding grooves are formed at equal intervals at a second pitch which is half the first pitch; and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the substrate holding hand. A take-out unit for taking out a substrate to be processed by a substrate holding hand from a container in which a plurality of substrates before processing are arranged and stored at the first pitch ;
A container transport mechanism for transporting the container storing the substrate to be processed from the container carry-in / out section to the stage of the take-out section;
A substrate arrangement section that is provided above the stage and arranges the substrates to be processed having the first pitch taken out from two containers by the substrate holding hand in the take-out section at the second pitch ;
A processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the two substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch ;
Conveying means for conveying the substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch in the substrate arrangement unit to the processing unit;
A standby unit that is provided above the substrate arrangement unit and temporarily waits for the substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch in the arrangement unit;
The substrate to be processed before the first pitch processing of the container on the stage is lifted in a state of being held by the substrate holding hand and transported to the substrate arranging unit, and the substrate arranging unit performs the above operation on the substrate holding hand. The substrates to be processed before processing for two containers are arranged at the second pitch, and the substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand are exchanged with the standby unit, The substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand is exchanged with the transfer means, and the substrate to be processed at the second pitch after processing received by the substrate holding hand is transferred to the substrate holding hand. Controlling the substrate to be processed to be stored in the container on the stage by the substrate holding hand, which is transported to the substrate array unit and converted into the first pitch by the substrate array unit. Arrangement part or said transport In stage, the transport process or sequence replacement of the substrate before treatment, when the conveying process or sequence replacement of the substrate after processing overlaps in the schedule, the sequence to the second pitch in the substrate sequence portion The substrate to be processed, which has been replaced, is made to stand by in the standby unit, and the substrate to be processed after being arranged at the second pitch is received from the transfer means by the substrate holding hand, and the substrate to be processed Is converted into the first pitch by the substrate arrangement unit, and then a plurality of substrates to be processed are delivered to the container on the stage at the first pitch by the substrate holding hand, and then the second of the standby unit be provided for delivery to the conveying means a substrate to be processed before the processing of the pitch receiving said substrate holder hands, and a control mechanism for controlling to convey to the processing unit by the conveying means A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that. The take-out unit lifts the substrate holding hand by the elevating mechanism, holds the substrate to be processed at the first pitch in the container by the substrate holding hand, and takes out the substrate to be processed by pushing upward. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. The substrate sequence unit, one after holding a plurality of the substrate in a state that is removed from the container, the substrate in their state between the substrate to be processed which a plurality of the substrate other container The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is held by a holding hand . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of substrates to be processed of the other container is provided in a direction opposite to the plurality of substrates to be processed held first. A container loading / unloading section for loading or unloading a container in which a plurality of substrates to be processed before or after processing are arranged and stored at equal intervals at a first pitch;
A stage on which the container is placed; a substrate holding hand in which substrate holding grooves are formed at equal intervals at a second pitch which is half the first pitch; and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the substrate holding hand. A take-out unit for taking out a substrate to be processed by a substrate holding hand from a container in which a plurality of substrates before processing are arranged and stored at the first pitch;
A container transport mechanism for transporting the container storing the substrate to be processed from the container carry-in / out section to the stage of the take-out section;
A substrate arrangement section that is provided above the stage and arranges the substrates to be processed having the first pitch taken out from two containers by the substrate holding hand in the take-out section at the second pitch;
A processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the two substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch;
Conveying means for conveying the substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch in the substrate arrangement unit to the processing unit;
Provided above the substrate array portion, a standby unit for temporarily waits a substrate to be processed arranged in said second pitch by the arrangement unit, a predetermined process based plate by using a substrate processing apparatus having a A substrate processing method to be applied ,
The substrate to be processed before the first pitch processing of the container on the stage is lifted in a state of being held by the substrate holding hand and transported to the substrate arranging unit, and the substrate arranging unit performs the above operation on the substrate holding hand. The substrates to be processed before processing for two containers are arranged at the second pitch, and the substrates to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand are exchanged with the standby unit, The substrate to be processed arranged at the second pitch on the substrate holding hand is exchanged with the transfer means, and the substrate to be processed at the second pitch after processing received by the substrate holding hand is transferred to the substrate holding hand. The substrate to be processed is transferred to the substrate array unit, and the processed substrate converted into the first pitch by the substrate array unit is stored in the container on the stage by the substrate holding hand,
And, in the substrate sequence portion or the conveying means, in the case where the transport process or sequence replacement of the substrate before treatment, and transportation process or sequence replacement of the substrate after processing overlaps in the schedule, said substrate sequence The processing target substrate that has been rearranged to the second pitch in the unit is caused to wait on the standby unit, and the processed target substrate that has been aligned at the second pitch is transferred from the transfer means to the substrate. A holding hand receives and converts the substrate to be processed into the first pitch by the substrate arrangement unit, and then delivers a plurality of substrates to be processed to the container on the stage at the first pitch by the substrate holding hand, then, transfer to the transporting unit substrate to be processed before the processing of the second pitch of the standby unit receiving said substrate holding hand, be conveyed by said conveying means to the processing unit The substrate processing method characterized by.

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